Bung for casks



(No Amel.) 2 sheets-sheen 1.

y W. W. JACKSON.

l BUN@ oR GASES, BARRBLS, 50. No. 280,931. Patenaed July l0, 138

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. W. JACKSON.

BUNG FOB. GASES, BARRELS, (sw. No. 280,931. A Patented July 10, 1883. Y

; lenuumnmum @ve/aim.

' Wines@ 613.

ym/@s r y `Uitlaten S'IArns YVILLIAM XV. JACKSON,

- PATENT OFFICE.

OF CHICAGO, IIILINOIs. A

ABUNG FOR CASKS, BARRELS, 80C.

'SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 280,931, dated July 10, 1883.

Application filed `lllecember 18, 1.8827. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, WILLIAM W. JacKsON,

` brewer and malter, a citizen of the United States, residing in Chicago, county of Cook, and State oi' Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bungs for Casks, Barrels, Ste., of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in bungs or Stoppers for closing the iilling-oriiice or bung`-hole usually located in the side of a Cask or barrel, which bungs or Stoppers are commonly composed of wood, are driven to place by blows from a mallet, andare removed by blows directed on the staves of the cask or barrel.

The objects of my invention are, first, to provide a bung which not only'avoids the ne cessity of blows, either directly or indirectly,

to insert or remove it from its operative position, but which does not permit of its insertion or removal by blows; second, to provide a bung adapted to be readily inserted or removed from the bunghole of a cash or barrel,wheth Yer or not said caslr or barrel is provided witha bung bushing metal, or otherwise, and whether or not the bushing or the walls of the bung-hole are tapering or straight, third, to provide a bung o r stopperwhich may be readily inserted in the bunghole or iilling-orifice, and afterward expanded so as to be effectually tightened in the same by a lateral internal pressure 5 fourth, to provide a bung adapted to be easily inserted in the bung-hole, and

' whichwhen projected into the cash and tightened against the staves or bushings thereof, will expand laterally on the sides of its projecting end, so as to form asubstantially rightangular flange 'iinpinging against the inner walls of the cask, thereby locking the bung to the cash and against the outward pressure of the contents ofthe cash, and at the sametime more effectually seal the Cask, but whichbung may be readily removed when desired and be afterward effectually used in the sameor any other casi; having abung-hole substantially of the same diameter; fifth, to provide an elastic bung with expanding devices which,when operated to expand the bung, are not liable to accidental detachment, and protect the essen tial parts of the bung from-foreignsubstances and from the destructive effects of the atmos phere; and, nally, to provide a bung with an expansive force of the gases or pressure of the liquid contents of the cash will compress the inner end of the bung, and in doing so spread the bung laterally and tighten it -in the easlr in the same proportion as such pressure is increased or diminished. I attain these objects by devices illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whiehu Figure l is a longitudinal section of a bung and tightening devices for the same embody in g my invention, all of said parts being shown Cask providedwith an Ordinary metallic bushing; Fig. 2, a perspective of a wrench eni-y ployed in tightening the bung, Fig. 3, a plan view of the expansion-core employed in connection with my bung; Fig. 4, a side elevation of the same; Fig. 5, a longitudinal section of the tightener or mandrel employed for exmodification .of the core; Fig. 7, a longitudinal section of a n'iodification of my bung in its operative position before being tightened directly against the staves of and in a Cask not provided with a bushing; Fig. 8, a similar view of the bung, the core, and the tightener ferred to, and Fig. 9, atop plan view of the tightener or mandrel. -u

Similar letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several figures of the drawings.

A representsa casl; or barrel stave, and, referring to Fig. l, a is an externally and screwthreaded tapering bushing of the ordinary construction.

B represents a bung cup-shaped in form, and composed, preferably, of rubber, but may be of leather, paper-pulp, or other flexible material rendered impervious to moisture by any of the well-known solutions adapted for that purpose, or else covered externally with a thin viilin of sheet-rubber. The length of this bung is sufcient so that when inserted to placeiu the bushing with its outer edge flush,- with the periphery of the cash the inner and closed end, b, will project beyond the inner walls of the cash, the diameter of the bung being such that it may be dropped to this position in the bushing. the inner diameter of the bung and adapted panding the core, Fig. 6, a similar view of a air-chamber next its inner end, whereby the in' their operative position in .a detail of a g in their operative position in the cash last re- IOC Corresponding substantially with l ure of the core on the bung.

cumferential ribs, d, which ribs, when the coreA is expanded, as hereinafter described, press themselves into and take such a hold upon the l bung that the core and bung are prevented from slipping upon each other, hence prevent' ing the core from moving outwardly when expanding it, and causing a positive lateral press- This expanding core is provided with internal screw-threads,

.in which works a correspondingly-screwthreaded and tapering tightener or mandrel,"

D, but the screw-threads of the core terminate a short distance above its inner end; hence an air space or chamber, e, is formed between the end of the tightener and the inner end, b, of the bung when the tightener has reached the limit -of its stroke in tightening the bung, as clearly shown in Fig. l. Vhen the expanding core is in its normal and contracted condition, as shown in Fig. 6, the inner diameter at its upper end is such that after the tightener is projected in the core-about a quarter of its length its further forward movement will gradually expand the core until by the time the tightener has reached the limit of its stroke in the core, as shown inFigs. l and 8, the bung will be expanded and secured in its operative position in the cask. The lateral expansionl of the sides of the bung produces a lateral expansion of its closed end, and the result is that a'shoulderor flange,f, is formed on the side of the projecting end of the bung,which shoulder, binding upon the inner walls of the cask', `materially and effectively aids the tightening devices in sustaining the bung against accidental detachment, but does not prevent the ready removal of the bung when'it is released from the pressure of such devices. When the bung is composed of rubber, it will of course assume its normal form, and the shoulder disappear when the pressure ofthe tightening devices is removed; but when composed of leather, paper,&c., having a less degree of flexibility, the shoulder will remain to a certain exv tent; but, notwithstanding this fact, the bung,

owing to its hollow and contractible form, may be easily removed from thecast.

As a convenient means for manipulating the tightener it is cored out, as shownv at g, one

' side of the cored-out portion being` enlarged by a dovetailed groove, g, and the bottom of the cored-out portion being also enlarged by an annular groove, g2, to adapt the tightener for receiving a corresponding wrench, G, pro- .vided with a longitudinal rib, h, corresponding with the groove g, said rib being provided at its extremity with a lateral extension or lu g, la', which, when the wrench is inserted and partially turned, enters the annular groove g2,

Y thereby locking the wrench in the tightener without departing from the spirit-of my invention, and in this connection it should be -addedthat-the cored-out or recessed portion may be closed by a removable stopperof any kind for excluding foreign substances, if

deemed necessary or desirable.

For the purpose of forming a more clearly defined shoulderfon the bung than that shown in Fig. l,fthe inner end ,of the expansiblegcore (see Fig. 6) may be provided with an external right-angular flange, z', in which case the inner end of the bung is correspondingly grooved at k to receive the ange, and when so constructed the core is projected with the bung beyond the inner walls of thel cask, as shown in Figs.v7 and 8, so that its flange is free to be expanded laterally insidethe cask.

Constructed in the above manner, the core cannot be dropped to place in the bung, as in the former construction; but, owing to the flexibility of the bung, a slight pressure .of the hand upon the core is all that is necessary for this purpose.

I t 'will be observed that the orifice of the cask-stave shown in Figs. 7 and '8 does not contain a bushing, and hence the'bung is providedat its outer vend with a flange, Z, seated in the usual depression in thev cask; but I do not consider :such a flange absolutely necessary, except for the purpose of sustaining the bung from dropping into the cask'when inserting it and its tightening devices to their operative position. In order to more effectu- IOO ally tighten the bung in the orice of a cask,

-bung to the walls of the cask; but it should be observed that any other form-of depression in the staves will answer the same purpose; hence I do not limit my invention to the corrugations, nor is it absolutely essential that IIO depressions of any kind should be formed in the staves.

My invention is shown as applied in bungholes'and bushings having a tapering form; but, owing to the almost unlimited pressure that may be exerted upon' the bung by the particular tightening devices shown and described, it is obviousfthat my bung'can be effectively employed inl bung-holes and bushings the walls of which are straight. `N or do I limit my invention to its application as a bung, 'for it will operate equally as effective, without any substantiahdeparture from the spirit thereof, as ,a bottle-stopper.

Having thus describedmy invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is;

l. The combination, with a c'ask the staves of which surrounding the bung-orifice are corrugated, of an elastic Vcup-shaped bung, and means for tightening the same i'n'said orifice, substantially as described. y

2. The combination, with'the elastic bung,

ofen expansible core composed of@ single pieee, provided with a single slot extending from end to end, and means for expanding said Gore, substantially as described. Y

3. The combination, with the elastic bung,

the core, and the tightener, of an. air-eha1nber intermediate the tghtener and inner end of the bung, substantially as described.

.4. Theeombination, with a Cask, of an e1aso tie bung projecting into the same, and provided with an internal annim groove, `and Aof im expansible core, composed of a single piece,

provided ai; its inner end with a flange, and

tting in sa-idbung, and means for expanding' said core, substantially as described.

. VILLIAM "W, JACKSON.

, Vitnesses:

WV. W. ELLIOTT, JNO. G. ELLIOTT. 

